9 dead as light aircraft crashes in Laguna, Philippines

Filipino firefighters search for victims' bodies after a medical evacuation aircraft crashed on a resort area in Barangay Pansol, Laguna, damaging two adjacent resorts yesterday, September 1

Share

Share

Dhaka: A small medical evacuation plane crashed into a resort area south of the Philippine capital and exploded in flames causing the death of all nine people on board yesterday, September 1.

The light plane crashed into a resort compound in Pansol village in Laguna province near the foothills of Mount Makiling. Police and rescuers retrieved nine bodies from the wreckage. Two people on the ground were injured and brought to a hospital, officials said.

Eric Apolonio, a spokesman of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, said the light plane was on a medical evacuation flight from southern Dipolog city in Zamboanga del Norte province and disappeared from radar for unknown reasons as it flew over Laguna, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of the capital. The plane was supposed to land in Manila.

The nine on board the plane included two pilots, two nurses, a doctor, a patient, the patient's wife and two other people, police said.

Videos posted online by witnesses showed flames and black smoke billowing from the private resort compound in Pansol, a district popular for its hot springs and swimming pools.

Firefighters and an ambulance can be seen near the scene of the crash in the videos while local officials asked villagers to step back to a safe distance.

The crash happened during the monsoon season, when fewer people visit Pansol's resorts compared to the hot summer months that ended in June.